Welcome to the work of Justin Schafer. If you'd like to know more about a particular project look for it here. To view the first project press the down arrow. If on a touch device, swipe down.

Mutual of Omaha sends agents all other the world for different sales contests. In 2014 they'll be sending winning agents to the Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas. Attempting to break away from the cliche mold of Vegas I created a unique, modern, illustrative take to attract a younger more sophisticated audience. Playing off of the busyness of the city I replicated the style of a vintage playing card with a modern twist. In addition to the tagline "The Vegas Vibe" we attempted to illustrate the overall experience they would enjoy at the upscale, modern Cosmopolitan Hotel.

The Mission Prague campaign kicked off an announcement that certain high selling insurance operatives would be sent on an all-inclusive trip to the Czech Republic. The campaign was targeted towards large insurance brokers and wholesalers who sold through numerous carriers, not just Mutual. In an attempt to get them to sell more Mutual products this mailing went out to entice them for the upcoming trip. The outside package was designed to look non descript and very vague. However, once it was opened they were presented with a leatherdossier and given instructions from mission headquarters. Further inside was a map of the city with points of interest, "mission details" which outlined the qualification requirements, an insert for the "Inner Circle" explaining the optional trip to Vienna and finally their "Mission Background" file folder which highlighted the city through pictures and background information cleverly disguised in a file folder brochure.

Mutual's World Series sales incentive is the oldest incentive program in the companies history. In celebrating its 80th year in a row we took the campaign back to the 1930's when the incentive was first adopted. The theme "Swing for the Fences" was directed toward the sales agents who were in competition with each other to qualify for the all expenses paid trip for two to the second game of the World Series. Nostalgic baseball photos from the 1920's and 30's were used frequently to convey the vintage inspired theme. In addition to creating brochures, baseball pennants and posters; custom baseball cards were created for each individual that won the trip. Used as a fun conversation piece, these cards put the agents head on a vintage baseball players body and gave them a laugh during dinner on opening night.

Mutual of Omaha has a long standing relationship with USA Swimming. Because the 2012 Olympic Swim Trials were held in Omaha, Mutual was looking to create a series of ads that would create awareness of its relationship with USA Swimming. The ads were to be featured in the official program at the event as well as the Omaha World Herald and targeted towards the local swimming community. Custom photography was taken by Scott Dobry and utilized dramatic lighting to convey the spotlight of the winner on the podium along with the heart and drive it took to get there.

Every year for the past 22 years Roncalli hosts an annual fundraiser called Festa del Leone. This years concept was a way to honor the rich history of the school yet convey the future outlook the fundraiser would be supporting. "Remebering the Past, Building the Future" looked at what it ment to be a Roncalli lion in the past and how donations can help shape the future. To convey the concept, similar poses of Roncalli students from the 1970's and 2011 were used side-by side.

I was commissioned to do a series of illustrations for Appadeus, a newly formed app company "handcrafting apps to perfection". The illustrations were to be featured on the homepage of their newly built website showcasing their newest projects. The set was meant to convey their good honest work ethic and imply that the attention to detail used during woodworking or other crafts is not lost when creating digital products.

Unknown to most of the public, Omaha's food bank actually serves most of Western Iowa in addition to Western Nebraska. In an attempt to educate the public on where the food bank operates, the name was changed from Omaha Food Bank to Food Bank for the Heartland. The food bank also runs several specialized programs to assist the community even further. Those programs were given their own treatment in order to maintain consistency with the new brand. A 30th anniversary logo was also developed and used on promotional materials throughout the year of the launch.

The first of its kind in the company's history, the Showdown gave 50 lucky business clients an opportunity to play with Mutual sponsored PGA golfers. The 5 person teams spent two days playing a scramble style tournament at Omaha Country Club. Not only were the clients ecstatic about their experience but even the golfers commented and said it was, "top-to-bottom the best pro-am any of them had been involved with". The use of black and orange, combined with an aggressive styled word-mark and fractal pattern lent itself to the competitiveness of the male dominated clients as well as the professional golfers. The invite was packaged in a custom mahogany box with 12 Showdown imprinted Titleist golf balls. The box's lid was engraved with the event logo and inlayed with gold. The lid insert featured the entire Mutual PGA team and utilized orange foil stamping to highlight their names. The inside brochure detailed information on the event and used a spot dull varnish to highlight the fractal pattern design used throughout the event. In addition to the invite a custom word-mark and typeface was created.

Children's Respite Care Center asked Mutual of Omaha to help sponsor one of their annual fundraisers. Smokey Joe's Cafe is a broadway style performance featuring 50's style rock and blues music from Leiber and Stoller. Tickets were sold to corporate donors for the first nights performance and then to the general public for last two evenings. In keeping with the 50's rock and blues style, atomic shapes and electric music notes were carried throughout the theme. The invitation set features a metallic silver outer envelope and utilized metallic silver and blue inks on the invite and reply card all while being coated in a "Soft Touch" varnish to provide a tactile impact. The poster was created using midnight blue French Paper with a one color silver metallic ink.

A personal project I initiated before the end of this year. Through hand lettering and icon illustration I set out to illustrate three quotes I found or created on my own as reminders for the coming year. The project eventually lead to creating wallpapers and screen printed posters. They are available for sale at schaferdesign.bigcartel.com

Personal wedding invitations and programs are often an opportunity for designers to take creative free-reign. Mine were no different. Weddings are a deeply personal day you're meant to share with your closest friends and family. For this reason I choose a simple yet personal handlettered design. This not only fulfilled my objective but also allowed me an opportunity to further experiment with hand lettering. The invitations were letterpressed and the envelopes hand stamped, reinforcing the personality. The programs were foil stamped on black paper and tied together with simple black and white bakers twine.